The other night I was watching a rerun of an episode of Chopped where they had amateur home cooks competing on the show. In the first round, the contestants were given amongst other ingredients scallops in a shell. One of the contestants was unfamiliar with how to deal with scallops in a shell. To be honest, most of the time when I get scallops they have already been cleaned and shelled. So, had I not taken the time to learn about this I may not have even known that they come in shell, but they do. While they are not as difficult to open as other shelled mollusks, they do need to be opened and cleaned before preparation. Besides having the sand and grit washed off them, the various organs such as the liver, abductor muscle, and sex organs need to be removed. Then and only then they can be baked, broiled, fried, or prepared in some other way.
Scallops are one of those foods that are not only healthy to eat, but they are powerful spiritually. Eating scallops is like any information that life presents us. There are some things that need to be removed and some things which need to be washed off before we can even consider ingesting them and making them part of our internal belief system.
Read moreMust have been a psychic thing
because I woke up this morning thinking about blueberries only to discover that
today, July 11 is National Blueberry Muffin Day, and I ate the last of the
blueberries last night. Maybe that is why I woke up thinking about them.
Blueberries are one of my top four berries (raspberries will always be number one,
followed by blackberries, strawberries, and then blueberries). Like the other
berries they not only taste good, but they are helping me become more
impeccable with my food choices as they are rich in vitamins and antioxidants
and low in calories.
Read moreOne of the things I enjoy most in life is cooking delicious meals
for friends. A few weeks ago, a dear friend of ours came over to help my wife
with some weeding, which turned out to be internal and external. While a good
deal of the weeding was going on, I was inside preparing a simple, but
delicious dish for my friend who loves lentils. One of the things I love most
about my friend Maryanna is that food does not need to be gourmet or cost a lot
to make her happy. It is usually the most simplistic of dishes like my tomato
basil soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, my olive oil and garlic bread, or baked
ziti. This particular night was just as simple, a lentil and rice pilaf with
carmelized onions. What inspired me was her comment about how the smell carried
her off the front porch and into the kitchen. She was already in love with the
dish before it ever made it to the table.
Read moreEarlier this week, I challenged people to think about what they were distributing into the Universe and the intent behind their actions. One of our readers from the UK, Antonia asked me if this was my segue to this week’s reflection here. While I had not thought about it at the time, it in some respects was, but for different reasons. She said it reminded her of a story in the New Testament about a young boy who gave Jesus a meager offering of fish and loaves and bread. Jesus took this gift and fed the masses. So often, we may not feel as if we may make a difference in the world, however, we never know how what we offer to the universe will change people’s lives.
It is all about the intent. Love and positive energy changes things. Sometimes just inviting people to the table to share a pizza and soda (not even homemade) makes people feel loved. Sometimes it is not what is on the table, but what is exchanged at the table.
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